Is God still our Father?

Binhi sang Pagtuo

June 22, 2009

Dear Centralians and Friends,

Greetings from the Chaplain’s Office!

As we celebrate Father’s Day, our reflection comes from Malachi 2:10-16.

The question of Malachi is relevant to us, “Have we not all one father? Did not one God created us? Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers by breaking faith with one another?”

Malachi was a minor Prophet but he had a major message. His message was: Remain in your covenant with God. Malachi was telling them that God should be their Father and they should act as children of God.

The story of the Bible is a story of a covenant relationship of God to his chosen people. The covenant is this: “I will be your God and you will be my people.”

Through Jesus Christ, we can now be called sons and daughters of God, and we can call God our Father. Christians are called the New Israel. Jesus gives us this new covenant: Love God and Love your neighbor. This is the commandment that all the laws, the prophets and writings are based.

The obvious question for us today is – Is God still our father? Do we still consider ourselves as children of God? I hope God will hear our resounding yes.

I would like to share two attributes of our God the Father that are found in our passage.

First, God is a caring father. The people of Israel in that time were careless in their attitudes. In spite of that, God was still the father who cares. He was still reminding the Israelites through the prophet Malachi to turn from their careless attitudes. God, as Father, cared so much that he sent prophets to always warn the Israelites and turn from their wicked ways.

Second, God is a sustaining father. We see in the passage that Israel became unfaithful to the covenant to the point of divorcing God. He still sustains his part of the covenant even if it is one sided. He is like the father in the parable of the prodigal son who keeps on waiting for his son to return.

Lastly, let me share a survey of 10 appreciated qualities of a father by his children:

1. He takes time for me.
2. He listens to me.
3. He plays with me.
4. He invites me to go places with him.
5. He lets me help him.
6. He treats my mother well.
7. He lets me say what I think.
8. He is nice to my friends.
9. He only punishes me when I deserve it.
10. He is not afraid to admit when he is wrong.

May God bless us all!

Sincerely yours,

Pastor Francis Neil G. Jalando-on
Assistant Chaplain